Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2023. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in Door County, has about 9,900 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Door County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Sturgeon Bay public records, Door County arrest records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Sturgeon Bay
The FBI lists Sturgeon Bay with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Sturgeon Bay Police Department. It reported 456 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Door County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 399 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Sturgeon Bay Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Sturgeon Bay: 456 for 2023, 358 for 2022, 355 for 2021, 312 for 2020 and 363 for 2019.
Sturgeon Bay's 456 arrests in 2023 were up 27 percent from 358 in 2022.
Across Door County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2023 on file reported 875 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Sturgeon Bay Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Sturgeon Bay and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 62 people, down from about 76 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 143 beds, and it ran at 43 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Door County Sheriff's Office at co.door.wi.gov/862/Jail (page title: Jail | Door County, WI), phone (920)746-2400, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Wisconsin Department of Corrections lists its inmates at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Sturgeon Bay
An arrest in Sturgeon Bay can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Door County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at doorcounty.wisconsincourt.us/circuit-court.html, phone 920-746-2204); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.door.wi.gov/184/District-Attorney, phone 920-746-2284).
Statewide, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access is the free statewide case search of every circuit court.
Wisconsin is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Wisconsin Online Record Check System lets anyone run a name-based check, through the Wisconsin Department of Justice. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Sturgeon Bay
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Wisconsin Public Records Law the agency must answer as soon as practicable and without delay; the law sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying and locating, with no charge for the first $50 of locating.
- An arrest by the Sturgeon Bay police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at sturgeonbaywi.org/departments/police_department/index.php (page title: Welcome to Sturgeon Bay, WI), phone 920-746-2450, 421 Michigan Street Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Door County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (920)746-2400.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 920-746-2284, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Door County Circuit Court, through the court records page at doorcounty.wisconsincourt.us, phone 920-746-2204.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Door County guide covers every agency in the county: Door County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Sturgeon Bay each year?
Sturgeon Bay reported 456 arrests to the FBI for 2023, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Sturgeon Bay?
Ask the Door County Sheriff's Office at (920)746-2400; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.door.wi.gov/862/Jail.
Where are people arrested in Sturgeon Bay booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Door County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Sturgeon Bay?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Wisconsin Department of Justice: the Wisconsin Online Record Check System lets anyone run a name-based check. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Wisconsin Public Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Sturgeon Bay?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Sturgeon Bay police for its own arrests, the Door County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Wisconsin Public Records Law the answer is due as soon as practicable and without delay; the law sets no number of days.
Is this the official Sturgeon Bay website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.